October signals rise in last minute European flight prices

Aviation developments see increase in European flight searches

Since recent European aviation developments, Skyscanner.net says it has seen an 86% increase in site exits from the UK to Europe over the last two weeks.

The global travel search engine says it has since drilled down its data to provide insights into average flight prices for some of the most popular European destinations.

Hayley Shearer, Growth Manager at Skyscanner, said: “This spike in traffic is likely to be due to travellers seeking alternative flights, our site allows them to do this simply and quickly by offering all the options. Whether it’s flying from or back in to a nearby airport, browsing all flights in a month or creating itineraries with two different airlines, all of these hacks can save travellers precious pounds.”

Delving in to Skyscanner’s data, the global travel site has seen an increase in last minute European average flight prices for the month of October (23%). However, the data also shows that the increase is starting to trail off for coming months and, by February, European prices have fallen back to seasonal norms (-2% compared to the two weeks prior to the announcements).

Shearer said: “Flight prices can rise for a number of reasons; this recent increase could be attributed to last minute bookings and the demand/supply model that most industries works to.

“When drilling down further on a selection of Brits’ most popular European destinations since the significant aviation changes came into effect a couple of weeks ago, we can see that whilst most destinations in Europe have seen an increase in their average flight price for immediate travel, most return to normal or even see prices drop for travel in January and February.”

But Shearer says travellers shouldn’t be put off looking for a bargain: “There are still some great deals to be had if you are savvy with your travel booking. For example, ticking Skyscanner’s Nearby Airports on your search and flying out of one airport and returning to another can save you ££s, as can flying with two different carriers.”

Lynda Hamilton Parker, a former national magazine journalist and travel writer, is an experienced business editor and PR consultant. She is the managing editor of Scotland B2B and also runs her own communications consultancy specialising in journalism, PR and related copywriting.